Systematic review of risk factors,prognosis,and management of colorectal signet-ring cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND Colorectal signet-ring cell carcinoma(CSRCC)is a rare clinical entity which accounts for approximately 1%of all colorectal cancers.Although multiple studies concerning this specific topic have been published in the past decades,the pathogenesis,associated risk factors,and potential implications on treatment are still poorly understood.Besides the low incidence,historically confusing histological criteria have resulted in confusing data.Nevertheless,the rising incidence of CSRCC along with relatively young age at presentation and associated dismal prognosis,highlight the actual interest to synthesize the known literature regarding CSRCC.AIM To provide an updated overview of risk factors,prognosis,and management of CSRCC.METHODS A literature search in the MEDLINE/PubMed database was conducted with the following search terms used:‘Signet ring cell carcinoma’and‘colorectal’.Studies in English language,published after January 1980,were included.Studies included in the qualitative synthesis were evaluated for content concerning epidemiology,risk factors,and clinical,diagnostic,histological,and molecular features,as well as metastatic pattern and therapeutic management.If possible,presented data was extracted in order to present a more detailed overview of the literature.RESULTS In total,67 articles were included for qualitative analysis,of which 54 were eligible for detailed data extraction.CSRCC has a reported incidence between 0.1%-2.4%and frequently presents with advanced disease stage at the time of diagnosis.CSRCC is associated with an impaired overall survival(5-year OS:0%-46%)and a worse stagecorrected outcome compared to mucinous and not otherwise specified adenocarcinoma.The systematic use of exploratory laparoscopy to determine the presence of peritoneal metastases has been advised.Surgery is the mainstay of treatment,although the rates of curative resection in CSRCC(21%-82%)are lower compared to those in other histological types.In case of peritoneal metastasis,cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy should only be proposed in selected patients.CONCLUSION CSRCC is a rare clinical entity most often characterized by young age and advanced disease at presentation.As such,diagnostic modalities and therapeutic approach should be tailored accordingly.

Early gastric composite tumor comprising signet-ring cell carcinoma and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma:A case report

BACKGROUND Composite tumors are neoplasms comprising two distinct,yet intermingling,cell populations.This paper reports a rare phenomenon where early gastric signet-ring cell carcinoma(SRCC)and gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue(MALT)lymphoma coexist within the same lesion.CASE SUMMARY A 40-year-old woman presented to the West China Hospital for examination,which revealed a whitish,shallow,and uneven mucosal lesion in the stomach.The lesion was diagnosed as a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma,including SRCC with atypical lymphoid hyperplasia associated with Helicobacter pylori infection,based on histopathological examination of the biopsy specimen.The lesion was excised using segmental gastrectomy.However,histological exami-nation of the surgical specimen confirmed that it was a poorly differentiated gastric adenocarcinoma with features of SRCC and MALT lymphoma.These two entities were stage I and coexisted in the same lesion.CONCLUSION It is uncommon for gastric SRCC and MALT lymphoma to coexist without distinct borders.Surgical resection is effective for these lesions.

Immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment in gastric signet-ring cell carcinoma

Gastric signet-ring cell carcinoma(GSRCC)is a subtype of gastric cancer with distinct phenotype and high risk of peritoneal metastasis.Studies have shown that early GSRCC has a good prognosis,while advanced GSRCC is insensitive to radiotherapy,chemotherapy or immune checkpoint blockade therapy.With technological advancement of single-cell RNA sequencing analysis and cytometry by time of flight mass cytometry,more detailed atlas of tumor microenvironment(TME)in GSRCC and its association with prognosis could be investigated extensively.Recently,two single-cell RNA sequencing studies revealed that GSRCC harbored a unique TME,manifested as highly immunosuppressive,leading to high immune escape.The TME of advanced GSRCC was enriched for immunosuppressive factors,including the loss of CXCL13+-cluster of differentiation 8+-Tex cells and declined clonal crosstalk among populations of T and B cells.In addition,GSRCC was mainly infiltrated by follicular B cells.The increased proportion of SRCC was accompanied by a decrease in mucosaassociated lymphoid tissue-derived B cells and a significant increase in follicular B cells,which may be one of the reasons for the poor prognosis of GSRCC.By understanding the relationship between immunosuppressive TME and poor prognosis in GSRCC and the underlying mechanism,more effective immunotherapy strategies and improved treatment outcomes of GSRCC can be anticipated.

Prediction of lymph node metastasis in early gastric signet-ring cell carcinoma:A real-world retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND Signet-ring cell carcinoma(SRCC)was previously thought to have a worse prognosis than other differentiated gastric cancer(GC),however,recent studies have shown that the prognosis of SRCC is related to pathological type.We hypothesize that patients with SRCC and with different SRCC pathological components have different probability of lymph node metastasis(LNM).AIM To establish models to predict LNM in early GC(EGC),including early gastric SRCC.METHODS Clinical data from EGC patients who had undergone gastrectomy at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 2012 to March 2022 were reviewed.The patients were divided into three groups based on type:Pure SRCC,mixed SRCC,and non-signet ring cell carcinoma(NSRC).The risk factors were identified through statistical tests using SPSS 23.0,R,and EmpowerStats software.RESULTS A total of 1922 subjects with EGC were enrolled in this study,and included 249 SRCC patients and 1673 NSRC patients,while 278 of the patients(14.46%)presented with LNM.Multivariable analysis showed that gender,tumor size,depth of invasion,lymphovascular invasion,ulceration,and histological subtype were independent risk factors for LNM in EGC.Establishment and analysis using prediction models of EGC showed that the artificial neural network model was better than the logistic regression model in terms of sensitivity and accuracy(98.0%vs 58.1%,P=0.034;88.4%vs 86.8%,P<0.001,respectively).Among the 249 SRCC patients,LNM was more common in mixed(35.06%)rather than in pure SRCC(8.42%,P<0.001).The area under the ROC curve of the logistic regression model for LNM in SRCC was 0.760(95%CI:0.682-0.843),while the area under the operating characteristic curve of the internal validation set was 0.734(95%CI:0.643-0.826).The subgroups analysis of pure types showed that LNM was more common in patients with a tumor size>2 cm(OR=5.422,P=0.038).CONCLUSION A validated prediction model was developed to recognize the risk of LNM in EGC and early gastric SRCC,which can aid in pre-surgical decision making of the best method of treatment for patients.

Update on diagnosis and treatment of early signet-ring cell gastric carcinoma: A literature review

Gastric signet-ring cell gastric carcinoma(GSRC)is an unfavorable subtype of gastric cancer(GC)that presents with greater invasiveness and poorer prognosis in advanced stage than other types of GC.However,GSRC in early stage is often considered an indicator of less lymph node metastasis and more satisfying clinical outcome compared to poorly differentiated GC.Therefore,the detection and diagnosis of GSRC at early stage undoubtedly play a crucial role in the management of GSRC patients.In recent years,technological advancement in endoscopy including narrow-band imaging and magnifying endoscopy has significantly improved the accuracy and sensitivity of the diagnosis under endoscopy for GSRC patients.Researches have confirmed that early stage GSRC that meets the expanded criteria of endoscopic resection showed comparable outcomes to surgery after receiving endoscopic submucosal dissection(ESD),indicating that ESD could be considered standard treatment for GSRC after thorough selection and evaluation.This article summarizes the current knowledge and updates pertaining to the endoscopic diagnosis and treatment of early stage signet-ring cell gastric carcinoma.

Gastric adenocarcinoma of fundic gland type with signet-ring cell carcinoma component: A case report and review of the literature

A depressed lesion was found at a gastric angle of 76-yearold Japanese woman by esophagogastroduodenoscopy. Four years prior, she was diagnosed with a Helicobacter pylori infection but no eradication was performed. The pathological diagnosis of biopsy specimens was signet-ring cell carcinoma. Endoscopic submucosal dissection(ESD) was performed. Histopathological examination of the ESD specimen revealed proliferation of well-differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma mimicking fundic gland cells at the deep layer of the lamina propria mucosae. These tumor cells expressed focally pepsinogen-Ⅰ, diffusely MUC6, and scattered H^+/K^+ ATPase according to immunohistochemistry. Therefore, we diagnosed this tumor as gastric adenocarcinoma of fundic gland type(GA-FG). Adjacent to the GA-FG, proliferation of signet-ring cell carcinoma which diffusely expressed MUC 2 and MUC 5AC was observed. Intestinal metaplasia was focally observed in the surrounding mucosa of the signet-ring cell carcinoma. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of GA-FG with a signet-ring cell carcinoma component. The origin of signet-ring cell carcinoma, i.e., whether it accidentally arose from a non-neoplastic mucosa and coexisted with the GA-FG or dedifferentiated from the GA-FG is unclear at present. We expect the accumulation of similar cases and further analysis to clarify this issue.

B7-H1 expression is associated with expansion of regulatory T cells in colorectal carcinoma

AIM： To investigate the expression of B7-H1 in human colorectal carcinoma （CRC） to define its regulating ef- fects on T cells in tumor microenvironment.

The expression of glucose regulated protein-94 in colorectal carcinoma cells treated by sodium butyrate

The expression of glucose regulated protein 94 (GRP94)during the treatment of human colorectal carcinoma cell lineClone A cells with sodium butyrate was studied. Sodium butyrate (SB) can cause functional and morphological effects on Clone A cells including growth arrest at Go/G1 stage and cell differentiation as observed by morphological changes, MTT and flow cytometry assays, as well as reduced Grp94 gene expression as shown by Northern blot and Western blot assays. The possible mechanism of the correlation between Grp94 gene expression and tumor growth inhibition and cell differentiation is briefly discussed.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PROLIFERATING CELL NUCLEARANTIGEN EXPRESSION AND ITS MALIGNANCY POTENTIAL IN COLORECTAL CARCINOMA

Objective: To study the relationship between proliferating cell nuclear antigen expression and its malignancy potential in colorectal carcinoma. Methods: Paraffin sections of 86 patients with advanced colorectal carcinoma were assessed by immunohistochemical study, using a mouse monoclonal antibody (pc-10, DAKO Co. USA) to check proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). To compare PCNA with conventional clinicopathologic factor, including p53 overexpression, tissue carcinoembnyonic antigen immunoreactivity pattern and flow cytometric DNA ploidy for assessing tumor malignancy potential. In addition, recurrence and survival of patients with advanced colorectal carcinoma after curative resection were analyzed in accordance with degree of PCNA expression. Results: PCNA-labeling index (PCNA-LI) increased significantly as the tumor stage advanced (p=0.0001). Strong correlations were observed between PCNA-LI and various pathologic parameters, including histologic differentiation (P=0.0027), lymphatic invasion (P=0.0001), vascular invasion (P=0.0001), lymph node metastasis (P=0.0001), and liver metastasis (P=0.0036). Mean PCNA-LI was also significantly higher in tumor with DNA aneuploidy (P=0.0006) and negative (P=0.01). Linear relationships were demonstrated between PCNA-LI and clinical outcomes; Recurrence rate was significantly greater in the group with higher than the mean PCNA-LI, who underwent curative resection (P<0.01), and three-year survival rates for curative cases with higher than the mean PCNA-LI were significantly poorer than those with lower than mean PCNA-LI (P<0.005). Conclusion: There were correlations between PCNA-LI and various pathologic parameters, PCNA-LI increased significantly as the tumor stage advanced in colorectal carcinoma, the rates of recurrence and death got higher as PCNA-LI increased after curative resection for colorectal carcinoma.

Clinicopathological and prognostic differences between mucinous gastric carcinoma and signet-ring cell carcinoma

Objective： To analyze the differences in clinicopathologic characteristics and prognosis between mucinous gastric carcinoma （MGC） and signet-ring cell carcinoma （SRCC）. Methods： Clinicopathologic and prognostic data of 1,637 patients with histologically confirmed MGC or SRCC who received surgical operations in the Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Beijing Cancer Hospital between December 2004 and December 2009 were retrospectively collected and analyzed. The clinicopathological features were analyzed statistically using Z2 test. Survival was analyzed using the Kaplan- Meier method and multivariate analysis of Cox proportional hazards regression model （backward, stepwise）. Results： A total of 181 patients with gastric cancer （74 MGC, 107 SRCC） were included. MGC, when compared with SRCC, was featured by senile patients, stage III and I~, upper third stomach, large tumor size, positive lymph node metastasis, and positive lymphatic vascular invasion （P〈0.05）. The overall 5-year survival rate showed no difference between the two groups （48.8% vs. 44.8%, P〉0.05）. However, the survival rate for MGC patients was significant lower than that for SRCC patients when compared among the age 〈60 years, negative distant metastasis, and tumor localized at upper third stomach （P〈0.05）. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models revealed that distant metastasis was a significant independent prognostic indicator in MGC group, and lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis was significant independent prognostic indicators in SRCC group. Conclusions： While compared with SRCC, MGC is associated with a more aggressive tumor biologic behavior. There is no statistically significant difference in distant metastasis, an independent prognostic indicator for both MGC and SRCC, which might be the reason for no significant difference of the overall survival rate between the patients with MGC and SRCC.

Signet-ring cell carcinoma of ampulla of Vater:Contrast-enhanced ultrasound findings

Signet-ring cell carcinoma(SRCC) of ampulla of Vater is extremely uncommon,and less than 15 cases have been reported so far in literature.It mainly occurs in elderly people(median age 57 years).We report a rare case of SRCC of the ampulla of Vater in a 38-year-old woman who presented with a small tumor at the Vater,discovered by the contrast-enhanced ultrasound(CEUS).Histopathological examination showed prominent signet-ring features.We also describe the imaging features of SRCC of ampulla of Vater in CEUS.

Inhibition of invasiveness and expression of epidermal growth factor receptor in human colorectal carcinoma cells induced by retinoic acid

Human amniotic basement membrane (HABM) model and agarose drop explant method were used to in-vestigate the effects of retinoic acid(RA) on the invasive-ness alld adhesiveness to the basement membrane, and the migration of a highly invassive human colorectal cancer cell line CCL229. Results showed that 5 ×106 MRA markedly reduced the in vitro invasiveness and adhesiveness to the HABM, and the migration of the CCL229 cells. In addi-tion, to elucidate the relation between expression of epider-mal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and the invasiveness of the colorectal carcinoma cells, two well-differentiated, but with different invasiveness colorectal cancer cell lines were compared at mRNA level for expressioll of EGFR by using EGFR cDNA probe labeled with digoxigenin (DIG). Expression of EGFR was showll to be markedly higher in the highly invassive CCL229 cells than that in the low in- vasive CX-1 cells. Furthermore, expression of EGFR in RA treated CCL229 cells gradually decreased with time,the level being the lowest on day 6 of the RA treatment.

Primary signet-ring cell carcinoma of the colon at early stage: A case report and a review of the literature

A 67-year-old man, who had undergone surgery to resect multiple gastric cancers 4 years ago, visited our hospital for surveillance colonoscopy. Colonoscopy revealed a discolored, 7-mm in diameter, flat-elevated lesion with central depression in the transverse colon near the splenic flexure. Although the findings of endoscopy and barium enema were suggestive of submucosal invasion, the patient chose to undergo endoscopic mucosal resection. Pathological examination of the resected specimen revealed signet-ring cell carcinoma and a positive surgical margin. A second operation was performed, and no residual tumor or metastasis to lymph nodes was found in the resected specimens. Primary colorectal cancers composed of signet-ring cell carcinoma detected and treated at an early stage are extremely rare. We present a case and review the literature.

LINE-1 family member GCRG123 gene is up-regulated in human gastric signet-ring cell carcinoma

AIM： To analyze the expression profiles of a human gastriccancer-related gene, GCRG123, in human gastric signetring cell carcinoma tissues, and to perform bioinformatics analysis on GCRG123.METHODS： In situ hybridization was used to explore the GCRG123 expression pattern in paraffin-embedded gastric tissues, including 15 cases of signet-ring cell carcinoma, 15 of intestinal-type adenocarcinoma, and 15 of normal gastric mucosa. Northern blotting was used to analyze the differences in GCRG123 expression between stomach signet-ring cell carcinoma and intestinal-type adenocarcinoma tissues. Online software, including BLAST, Multalin and BLAT, were applied for bioinformatics analysis. National Center for Biotechnology Information （NCBI） and the University of California Santa Cruz （UCSC） databases were used for the analyses.RESULTS： The in situ hybridization signal appeared as blue precipitates restricted to the cytoplasm. Ten out of 15 cases of gastric signet ring cell carcinoma, normal gastric mucosal epithelium and pyloric glands showed high GCRG123 expression. Low GCRG123 expression was observed in gastric intestinal-type adenocarcinoma and normal gastric glands. Northern blotting revealed that GCRG123 was up-regulated in signet-ring cell carcinoma tissue but down-regulated in intestinal-type adenocarcinoma tissue. BLAST and Multalin analyses revealed that the GCRG123 sequence had 92% similarity with the ORF2 sequence of human long interspersed nuclear element retrotransposons （LINE-1, L1）. BLAT analysis indicated that GCRG123 mapped to all chromosomes. GCRG123 was found to integrate in the intron-17 and -23 of Rb, 5＇ flanking region of IL-2 and clotting factor Ⅸ genes.CONCLUSION： GCRG123, an active member of the Lt family, was up-regulated in human gastric signet-ring cell carcinoma.

Identification of proteins of human colorectal carcinoma cell line SW480 by two-dimensional electrophoresis and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry

AIM： To conduct bhe proteomic analysis of human colorectal carcinoma cell line, SW480 by using two-dimensional electrophoresis （2-DE） and matrix-assisted laser desorption /ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry （MALDITOFMS）. METHODS： The total proteins of human colorectal carcinoma cell line, SW480 were separated with 2-DE by using immobilized pH gradient strips and visualized by staining with silver nitrate. The gel images were acquired by scanner and 2-DE analysis software, Image Master 2D Elite. Nineteen distinct protein spots were excised from gel randomly and digested in gel by TPCK-trypsin. Mass analysis of the byptic digest peptides mixture was performed by using MALDI-TOF MS. Peptide mass fingerprints （PMFs） obtained by the MALDI-TOF analysis were used to search NCBI, SWISS-PROT and MSDB databases by using Mascot software. RESULTS： PMF maps of all spots were obtained by MALDI-TOF MS and thirteen proteins were preliminarily identified. CONCLUSION： The methods of analysis and identification of protein spots of tumor cells in 2-DE gel with silver staining by MALDI-TOF MS derived PMF have been established. Protein expression profile of SW480 has been obtained. It is demonstrated that a combination of proteomics and cell culture is a useful approach to comprehend the process of colon carcinogenesis.

Signet ring cell carcinoma hidden beneath large pedunculated colorectal polyp:A case report

BACKGROUND Large pedunculated colorectal polyps are not frequent among colonic polyps.We present a clinical case of a large pedunculated colorectal polyp with signet ring cell cancer infiltrating the submucosa and lymph node invasion in a patient who ultimately underwent additional surgery.Clinicians should attach importance to pedunculated colorectal polyps and choose the most appropriate therapy.CASE SUMMARY A 52-year-old female farmer underwent routine screening colonoscopy and denied constipation,diarrhea,hematochezia,or other gastrointestinal symptoms.Her past medical history and general biochemical examination results were unremarkable.During the colonoscopy,a 25-mm pedunculated polyp in the sigmoid colon was identified.The superficial epithelium was macroscopically congestive,rough,and granular,showing characteristic features of adenoma.We first ligated the root of the pedunculated polyp using nylon loops as well as a titanium clip.Histopathological examination revealed high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia of the tumor surface and a negative margin with signet ring cell adenocarcinoma infiltrating the submucosal layer.The deepest infiltration was approximately 0.9 cm from the tumor surface and 0.55 cm from the stratum basale.We performed radical resection of the left colon with lymph node dissection after two weeks.The lesion was completely resected,and pathological assessment revealed signet ring cell adenocarcinoma infiltrating the submucosal layer as well as lymph node invasion(stage PT1N1M0 and grade IIIA in pathological grading,NRAS-,BRAF V600E-,KRAS-).CONCLUSION This case highlights the importance of paying attention to the malignancy of large pedunculated polyps.Polyps or adenomas removed via endoscopy must be evaluated histologically.Even if adenomas may be fragile,endoscopy doctors should still remove polyps as completely as possible and choose perpendicular sections through the stalk and base to fix by formaldehyde solution.

Edema of limbs as the primary symptom of gastric signet-ring cell carcinoma:A case report and literature review

BACKGROUND Metastatic skin cancers are relatively rare dermatological malignancies.They usually present as nodules,erythematous lesions,scar-like lesions or other lesion types.Signet-ring cell carcinoma(SRCC)is an uncommon histological type of gastric cancer that usually behaves aggressively and has a poor prognosis.Skin metastasis may be the first sign of clinically silent visceral cancer or recurrence of an internal malignancy.CASE SUMMARY Herein we report on the case of a 55-year-old man with edema of a lower extremity as the primary symptom which progressed from local to generalized pitting edema in the year following skin involvement.Pathological evidence from gastroscopic specimens and subcutaneous tissue biopsy showed typical signetring cells and gland-like structures.Consistently,immunohistochemical analysis revealed positive pan-cytokeratin expression in tumor cells.A diagnosis of gastric SRCC with skin metastasis was established.Moreover,lymphoscintigraphy showed an obvious accumulation of radiotracer on the anterior and posterior sides of the right leg which indicated lymphedema.We reviewed the relevant literature on subcutaneous metastases of gastric SRCC.CONCLUSION This rare case emphasizes the importance of physical examination as it may help elucidate the etiology of edema.

Prognostic nomograms for predicting overall survival and causespecific survival of signet ring cell carcinoma in colorectal cancer patients

BACKGROUND Signet ring cell carcinoma(SRCC)is an uncommon subtype in colorectal cancer(CRC),with a short survival time.Therefore,it is imperative to establish a useful prognostic model.As a simple visual predictive tool,nomograms combining a quantification of all proven prognostic factors have been widely used for predicting the outcomes of patients with different cancers in recent years.Until now,there has been no nomogram to predict the outcome of CRC patients with SRCC.AIM To build effective nomograms for predicting overall survival(OS)and causespecific survival(CSS)of CRC patients with SRCC.METHODS Data were extracted from the Surveillance,Epidemiology,and End Results database between 2004 and 2015.Multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to identify independent variables for both OS and CSS to construct the nomograms.Performance of the nomograms was assessed by concordance index,calibration curves,and receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves.ROC curves were also utilized to compare benefits between the nomograms and the tumor-node-metastasis(TNM)staging system.Patients were classified as high-risk,moderate-risk,and low-risk groups using the novel nomograms.Kaplan-Meier curves were plotted to compare survival differences.RESULTS In total,1230 patients were included.The concordance index of the nomograms for OS and CSS were 0.737(95%confidence interval:0.728-0.747)and 0.758(95%confidence interval:0.738-0.778),respectively.The calibration curves and ROC curves demonstrated good predictive accuracy.The 1-,3-,and 5-year area under the curve values of the nomogram for predicting OS were 0.796,0.825 and 0.819,in comparison to 0.743,0.798,and 0.803 for the TNM staging system.In addition,the 1-,3-,and 5-year area under the curve values of the nomogram for predicting CSS were 0.805,0.847 and 0.863,in comparison to 0.740,0.794,and 0.800 for the TNM staging system.Based on the novel nomograms,stratified analysis showed that the 5-year probability of survival in the high-risk,moderate-risk,and low-risk groups was 6.8%,37.7%,and 67.0%for OS(P<0.001),as well as 9.6%,38.5%,and 67.6%for CSS(P<0.001),respectively.CONCLUSION Convenient and visual nomograms were built and validated to accurately predict the OS and CSS rates for CRC patients with SRCC,which are superior to the conventional TNM staging system.

Gastric signet-ring cell carcinoma with paraneoplastic eosinophilia: A case report and literature review

We report the case of a 40-year-old female Chinese patient with gastric signet-ring cell carcinoma that was first diagnosed because of paraneoplastic eosinophilia.The patient’s eosinophil count reduced markedly to normal levels within 24 h after radical gastrectomy and Billroth II anastomosis.The patient recovered well after the surgery and no abnormalities were found during the regular follow-ups.Paraneoplastic eosinophilia is an unusual manifestation that usually remains asymptomatic;moreover,cases of solid malignant tumors with eosinophilia are uncommon.To our knowledge,this is the first reported case of paraneoplastic eosinophilia in a patient with gastric carcinoma.We considered eosinophilia as a manifestation of a paraneoplastic syndrome,which can be the first clinical manifestation of a malignancy.

Expression of a novel apoptosis inhibitor-survivin in colorectal carcinoma

AIM： To investigate the role of survivin expression in the pathogenesis of colorectal carcinoma. METHODS： Immunohistochemistry S-P method and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling （TUNE） were used to detect the expression of survivin and apoptotic cell in situ in colorectal cancerous tissues, para-cancerous tissues and normal tissues of 48 cases of colorectal carcinoma. RESULTS： The survivin positive unit （PU） was higher in cancerous tissues （38.76±5.14） than in para-cancerous （25.17±7.26） or normal tissues （0.57±0.03） （P〈0.05）. The apoptosis index （AI） of para-cancerous tissues was （7.51±2.63%） higher than cancerous tissues （4.65±1.76%）. The expression of survivin was associated with pathological grade, lymph node metastasis and Dukes stage of colorectal carcinoma. CONCLUSION： Survivin expression may play an important role in carcinogenesis of colorectal carcinoma and may be associated with malignant biological behaviors of colorectal carcinoma.